Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning into meat mixture. Line bottom and sides of greased 9 x 13 pan with tortillas. Spread beef mixture over tortilla crust. Place remaining tortillas over top, cutting to fit if necessary and covering to fit completely. Mix together soup and milk and pour over top. Sprinkle cheese over top. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese is completely melted.

Cook, while stirring, over medium heat for about 1 minute, until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low. Cover pan and cook 4 minutes. Add salsa to taste. Mixture thickens as it cools and will stay thick even after reheating.

Note: you could also add cream cheese with or without salsa for a different flavored dip.

Add one tablespoon of any of the above seasoning to one cup rice, before cooking.

Instructions: In a medium saucepan, melt butter/margarine/oil. Add rice. Stirring constantly, saute until translucent but not browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in salt, water and 2 tablespoons rice seasoning mix of your choice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and reduce heat to just a simmer. Simmer until rice is tender, about 20-40 minutes, depending on if you are using white or brown. Fluff with fork.

Combine rice cereal, oats, flour, and nuts in large bowl. Melt butter. Add sugars, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over cereal and toss to evenly coat. Spread about 4-5 cups of mixture loosely on greased baking sheet or on parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Store in airtight container. Eat just like cold cereal with milk, or as a snack, or ice cream topping, or with yogurt.

Place washed beans in large pan. Cover in water and add 2 Tbsp. of salt. Soak overnight. Drain and add 2 quarts of water and ham hock. Simmer 2 hours. Add vegetables and seasoning. Simmer another hour. Before serving, remove ham hock. When it cools discard the fat and add the meat to soup. Garnish with salsa, sour cream and grated cheddar cheese, if desired.

Brown ground beef and onion in large soup pot. Combine all ingredients, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.We have this with cornbread and raspberry butter, may sound like an odd combination, but the flavors go great together.

To cook wheat berries, cover wheat berries with 4 cups water and let sit in fridge overnight. Put both berries and water in pot and cook at a simmer for approx 1 hour, or until tender. Most of the water should be absorbed by the end of cooking. Keep an eye on the berries during cooking in case additional water needs to be added. Cool to room temperature.Combine salad ingredients together. Toss with dressing. This can be served chilled or at room temperature.

Homemade Mac & Cheese MixAbby JohnsonThis is a homemade pantry mix to store in a Tupperware that your kids can pull out and make anytime without the preservatives you get in the store-bought Mac & Cheese.2 cups powdered cheese2 cups powdered milk2 cups powdered butter2 cups flour2 T. salt

Mix and store in food grade container.To make: Prepare about a half a package of any kind of pasta you prefer. Set aside.Boil 1 cup of water. Add 1/3 cup of mix and stir. Mixture will thicken.Pour cheese mixture over pasta. Optional: Add grated fresh shredded cheddar cheese on top.

OPTIONAL: ½ can tomato paste or ketchup to tasteDrain tomatoes, reserving liquid. Add water to reserved liquid to make 2 c. Bring rice and liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for until tender, approx 20 minutes. Rehydrate vegetables (all together) in 1 c. hot water (or more, if needed) allow to sit until water is absorbed. Rehydrate beef TVP (spices included) by simmering in water (start with ¼ cup and add as needed). Heat oil in skillet. Add rehydrated veggies and drained tomatoes. Heat through. Add all other ingredients (except rice) and heat through. Serve with cooked rice.

Blend bottled fruit in blender. Pour into a large bowl and add ingredients in order given. Mix until well blended. Pour into 2 well greased and floured bread pans or a bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour bottom and sides of 13x9 pan. Beat all ingredients except nuts and raisins for three minutes. (If using egg powder, sift it into the bowl with the other dry ingredients.) Stir in nuts and raisins. Pour into pan. Bake 45 minutes, cool in pan on wire rack.

Heat oil. Add onions and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add spices through salt. Add ground beef and cook thoroughly. Add sauce, broth, sugar and vinegar and bring to simmer then reduce to medium low and cook until the liquid is just thickened.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Great a 9x13 pan. Mix together all ingredients - you may need to use your hands. Press into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on how crunchy you wan them. Lightly browned around the edges only will give you moist, chewy bars. Let cool for 5 minutes. Cut into squares, then let cool completely before serving.

Combine the dates and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and gradually stir in the baking soda (it will foam up), and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar to the butter and cream until fluffy. Without stopping the mixer, add 2 of the eggs and mix until combined. Add the remaining 2 eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the date mixture and mix until combined. Repeat until all the flour mixture and the dates are incorporated into the batter. Pour into the baking pan and bake about 40 minutes, until firm and set in the center. Let cool in the pan. The recipe can be made through this step up to 2 days in advance.

Sauce: Combine the butter, 1 cup heavy cream and brown sugar in a small heavy saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil gently over medium low heat until mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes. Preheat broiler. Spoon about 2/3 cup of the sauce over the pudding. Spread evenly on top. Place pudding under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute. Serve immediately spooned into dessert bowls. Drizzle with toffee sauce and top with a spoonful of whipped cream.

In a mixing bowl, cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Mix on low until just combined. Stir in water until blended. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350º for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. For frosting, in a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool several minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Frost cooled cake.

Preheat oven to 325º. Have a pot of boiling water ready. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the cream until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and blended. Let cool slightly.In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 2 Tbsp. of the sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and thick ribbons fall from the whisk, about 5 minutes. Slowly stir in the warm chocolate cream, then stir in the vanilla.

Line a 3-inch deep baking pan with a kitchen towel and place four (6 oz) ramekins in the pan. Pour the chocolate mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Divide the chocolate mixture among the ramekins. Add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins and cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil.Bake until the custards are just set around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Just before serving, sprinkle 1 Tbsp. sugar evenly over the surface of each custard. Using a kitchen torch, move the flame continuously in small circles over the surface until the sugar bubbles and just begins to turn golden, 20 to 30 seconds per custard. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

In a mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. Add the milk, oil and vanilla; stir until batter is smooth. Stir in the peanut butter pieces. Spread batter evenly in the bottom of a greased 3 ½ or 4 quart slow cooker.

In another mixing bowl combine the ¾ cup sugar and the ¼ cup cocoa powder. Stir together boiling water and peanut butter; stir into the cocoa mixture. Pour evenly over the batter in the slow cooker.

Cover; cook on high-heat setting for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let stand, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes to cool slightly.To serve, spoon pudding cake into dessert dishes. Sprinkle with peanuts. If desired, serve with ice cream.

Chocolate GanacheChocolate ganache can be poured as a coating, chilled and made into truffles or whipped into a delightfully light frosting.

Basic ganache consists of just two ingredients: chocolate and heavy cream. The basic recipe is often enhanced by the addition of butter, flavored liqueurs or spices.

The method for making ganache is always the same:Bring the cream barely to a boil (with butter or flavoring added at this point, if desired). Remove from heat and pour over a bowl of chopped chocolate.Cover and let stand for a few minutes to soften the chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Let cool at room temperature.

Variations:Chocolate Glaze: 1 part chocolate, 1 part cream. After whisking, let stand for a few minutes to firm. Pour over cakes, brownies, éclairs, etc. If you want to make this in advance, you may. When ready to use, heat back up slowly over a double-boiler.Chocolate Frosting: 1 part chocolate, 1 part cream. After whisking, let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Once chilled, remove from fridge and whip until frosting like consistency. Spread on as you would frosting.Chocolate Truffles: 3 parts chocolate, 1 part cream. After whisking, let cool at room temperature. Chill in fridge. This will create a firm-textured ganache that can hold its shape. Once your ganache has cooled, scoop little balls using a melon baler or small ice cream scoop. Dip the truffles in an additional layer of coating chocolate, or simply roll in cocoa powder, sprinkles or sugar.

Occasionally you may encounter a dry-looking or even cracked ganache. This is usually due to over-heating or cooling too rapidly. If you allow the cream and chocolate to get too hot, especially when reheating, the oils may separate out of the chocolate and float to the top, leaving you with a dull, dry-looking finished product. You may still use it as truffles, whipped filling or simply melt it and spoon into a glass of warm milk for a delicious cup of hot chocolate.

Sending your ganache straight to the refrigerator after mixing can also cause it to separate. The process of cooling the ganache slowly helps the molecules from the chocolate and cream to bond more securely, giving it a nice shine. It’s best to allow it to cool at room temperature before transferring it to the fridge.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

MuffinsTo freeze muffins, make your favorite muffin batter. Fill paper lined tins with batter. Place in freezer for a quick freeze. Once solid (about 6 hours), take muffins out and put them in a gallon size freezer Ziploc to save space. When ready to serve, heat oven to 375º. Place muffins in tin and bake for 35 to 40 minutes if still frozen. (Or make adjustments to your recipe by cooking at same temperature for approx 10 extra minutes.)

Tempting Rolls(These can be baked fresh, overnight or frozen and baked later)

Fresh Mex Tomatillo Dressing1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)2 tomatillos (tomato like vegetable with a husk around them)½ bunch of cilantro1 clove garlicJuice of 1 lime1 jalapeño (Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green Tabasco for the jalapeno.)

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.* Be warned... this makes a ton of dressing, but it will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

In a large bowl, combine cabbage and salt; let stand for 1 hour.In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, water, celery seed and mustard seed. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; cool.Add the carrot, green pepper and vinegar mixture to the cabbage mixture; stir to combine. Transfer to large freezer bags; seal and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove from the freezer 2 hours before serving. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Toast nuts in skillet over medium heat. Transfer nuts to a plate. Add the garlic to empty skillet. Toast, shaking the pan occasionally until color deepens slightly. Let garlic cool, peel and chop. Process nuts, garlic, basil oil and ½ tsp. salt in food processor until smooth. Stir in cheese and season with salt and pepper. Freeze in freezer container and use as desired.

Mix butter, Gorgonzola and pecans in medium bowl. Divide mixture into quarters and place each portion on a sheet of was paper. Roll paper tightly so that the butter takes the shape of a log; place all four butter logs in a freezer bag. Seal and freeze.To serve completely thaw one butter log in the refrigerator. Toss with green beans or roasted red potatoes or put a pat on a freshly cooked steak.

Place eggplant slices on paper towels and salt with 1 Tbsp. kosher salt. Let sit for 30 minutes to draw out moisture (if you’re using a very small eggplant, this is not necessary). After 30 minutes, brush salt off and blot dry with paper towels. Add a drizzle of oil to skill and fry eggplant on both sides until tender. Meanwhile, place sliced tomatoes in 350º oven for 15 minutes to bring out flavors.In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, feta, pesto, eggs, salt and pepper until well mixed. Fold pumpkin into ricotta mixture.Spoon half of the tomato sauce into a 9x13 baking dish. Lay two pasta sheets over the sauce. Arrange a single layer of eggplant slices over pasta and top with half the ricotta mixture. Cover with two more pasta sheets. Arrange the roasted tomatoes evenly over the sheets and spoon the remaining half the ricotta mixture over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Top with remaining two sheets of pasta. Pour remaining tomato sauce over all and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and freeze. To serve, thaw and bake in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

PizzaUsing your favorite pizza dough recipe, roll out pizza crust. Cook in hot oven for 7 minutes to par bake. Cool and place crust in freezer. When ready to use, pull out crust, top with favorite toppings and bake in oven until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.

Slice potatoes ¼ inch thick. Put in large sauce pan and cover with water and 2 tsp. salt. Bring to boil; boil gently about 8 minutes or until potato is just fork tender. Drain well. Melt butter in large sauce pan over low heat; blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually stir in milk. Return to heat; cook until thickened and bubbly. Fold in ham, onion, green pepper and cheese. Layer potatoes and sauce mix in a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for ½ hour. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.Optional: could add cooked green beans or broccoli to the potatoes.

Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick coating. Place half of the tortilla wedges in the bottom of dish. Place remaining tortilla pieces on a baking sheet; bake in a 350º oven about 10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Meanwhile, combine chicken, corn, salsa, sour cream, cilantro and flour. Spread over tortillas. Remove baking tortillas from oven and let cool. Once cool, place in freezer Ziploc bag. Wrap baking dish and freeze both tortillas and casserole. To serve, remove from freezer and bake casserole, covered in a 350º oven for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake about 20 minutes more or until heated through. Top with tortilla pieces and cheese; bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until heated through. If desired garnish with additional sour cream, jalapeno slices, cilantro or tomato.

*You can also use chicken and add 1 (16 oz) jar salsa verde in place of regular salsa.

Combine sauce ingredients and simmer for ½ hour.Mix meatball ingredients and make meatballs. Brown meatballs in a little oil in a skillet. Place meatballs in Pyrex, single layer. Pour sauce over meatballs. Wrap tightly and freeze. When ready to use, thaw meatballs* and bake at 325º for 1 ½ - 2 hours uncovered. Serve over rice or noodles or just with a toothpick!

*If short on time, you can cook meatballs frozen – just lower the temperature slightly and cook a little longer.

Place carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. In a large bowl, mix vegetables, ground beef, diced tomatoes, beef broth, tomato paste, sugar and beans. Add half of each: Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes. Stir until combined. Place mixture in a 6-qt slow cooker and cook 5 ½ hours on high or 8 ½ hours on low. Stir in remaining Italian seasoning, salt and pepper flakes. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. For 8 servings, toss half the meat sauce with rigatoni; serve with grated cheese, if desired. Reserve other half of the sauce for future meals. May be frozen, tightly covered, for up to 2 months.

Brown the hamburger with the onion. Add the cream of mushroom soup and one can of water. Pour into a casserole dish. Add the cheddar cheese and the tater tots and stir. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is lightly brown.

In about 2 tsp. oil, sauté vegetables until tender crisp. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, pineapple juice and Ultra Gel or cornstarch. Add to vegetables and bring mixture to a boil if using cornstarch. If using Ultra Gel, there’s no need to heat. Stir until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in pineapple and chicken. Bag and freeze.

When thawed, heat through in saucepan or microwave and serve over brown rice.

In a 9x13 pan combine flour, sugar, walnuts and butter. Spread evenly in pan and bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350º oven. You can also microwave for 2 minutes or 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until mixture is dry and crumbly. Let cool completely. Remove 1/3 of mixture and press remaining mixture into bottom of the pan.

In a separate bowl combine egg whites, sugar, strawberries, and lemon juice. Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. It will take 5-6 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix ½ pt. whipping cream until fluffy, then fold into strawberry mixture. Spread over crust, sprinkle with reserved crust mixture. Cover and freeze several hours or overnight.

Toss together the fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Spread the fruit mixture with a rubber spatula into a pie plate. Sprinkle the frozen topping evenly over the fruit. Bake for about 40 minutes until fruit is bubbling.

Combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cut butter into dry mixture until mixture has a coarse cornmeal texture. Add the nuts.Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet and place in freezer until frozen, about 1 hour. Once frozen, place mixture in a freezer Ziploc bag. Pull out to use as desired. Makes 8 cups.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

There’s a Cow in the Kitchen(Information taken from Virginia D. Nelson’s There’s a Cow in the Kitchen recipe book)

What is nonfat dry milk? Also referred to as powdered milk, it is nothing more than milk from which the water and most of the butterfat have been removed. It still contains all the minerals, vitamins, and high quality protein of whole milk.

Instant – has the advantage of being easier to mix for fluid milk, but is usually more expensive. Also requires more powder to water ratio.

Non-instant – is a little more difficult to mix, but does so quickly in a blender or with a whisk. It is also lower in coast than the instant. Non-instant has the advantage of not requiring scalding in those recipes that call for scalded milk.

With a few adjustments in your recipes you will find powdered milk oftentimes more convenient than using fresh milk.

Baking with powdered milk – When baking, add the required amount of milk powder to the dry ingredients and use plain water for the liquid. For example: If a recipe calls for 1 cup of milk, stir 3 Tbsp. of non-instant milk powder into the flour, and use 1 cup of water in place of the milk in the recipe. If you keep a container of milk powder next to your flour container, you’ll find this more convenient than using fluid milk.

Heat oven to 425°. Roll one pie crust on lightly floured waxed paper sheets to approximately 14” circle. Carefully place in 9” pie dish. In large bowl, mix fruit (well-drained if using frozen apricots), sugar, flour, and tapioca (& cinnamon if desired). Stir carefully so you won’t mash the apricots. Pour into the crust-lined pie dish. Roll out 2nd crust and carefully place on top of filled pie dish. Trim edges so about ¾” of dough hangs over the edge of pie dish. Seal and flute the crust by folding top layer under lower layer, pressing to seal. While pinching the top and bottom edges together, form a stand-up rim on edge of pie plate to seal pastry and to make fluting easier. Flute the edges by placing index finger of one hand on inside of pastry rim, thumb and index finger of other hand on outside. Pinch pastry into V-shape; continue around pie. Make several slits in top of pie crust. Sprinkle top crust with sugar. Cover edge with 2 to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning (remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking). Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

Put first 3 ingredients (flour, sugar, salt) in large bowl and mix well with a fork. Add shortening and mix with pastry cutter or fork until ingredients are crumbly. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup water, the vinegar and the egg. Combine the two mixtures, stirring with fork until all ingredients are moistened. Divide dough into 5 portions and with hands, shape each portion into a flattened round circle. Wrap each separately in saran wrap. Dough may be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen in a Ziplock freezer bag. Makes two 9” double crust pies and 1 single 9” crust pie or pie shell.

Preheat oven to 350°. Toss ingredients together. Place in unbaked pie shell, dot with 2 tablespoons butter, top with unbaked crust and seal edges, cut 3 or 4 slits in center. If desired, you can brush the crust with a mixture of 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon cream. Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, increase oven temp to 375 and bake until nicely browned, about 20 minutes longer.

In small bowl stir all ingredients for pumpkin filling until well blended. Spread evenly in bottom of pie shell. Prepare pecan layer: In medium bowl, stir eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla until well blended. Stir in pecans. Carefully spoon over pumpkin filling. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until filling is set around edge. Cool on rack. Serves 8.

Fresh Peach Pie (call me on this one because it is more complicated or try to find Peach Glaze in the produce section of your supermarket—it is already made and ready to pour over sliced peaches.)

Most good cookbooks (like Betty Crocker or Better Homes & Gardens) will have instructions for other pies like Pecan Pie, all kinds of fruit pies, etc. Just plan to use the “Never Fail Pie Crust” recipe in this packet for all these pies and follow recipe in cookbook for baking instructions.

Many recipes call for pie crusts to be blind-baked—that is, precooked without the filling so that the crust can set enough to form a seal. Partial blind-baking gives the crust a head start to keep wet fillings from causing a soggy bottom crust; pies with no-bake fillings require a fully blind-baked crust. First, prepare your pie shell, then follow these tips.• Chill the raw pie shell at least 15 minutes before lining with foil. This will firm the dough enough to protect the decorative edge while you press foil into place.• Use pie weights, dry beans, or uncooked rice to half-fill the foil liner in the pie shell. (Beans and rice can be used again for baking blind—but not in cooking, since the oven heat dries them out.)• Bake the pie shell at 375° partway with foil and weights to set it and help keep its shape (about 15 minutes) then remove foil and weights to continue baking and allow crust to brown evenly.• Let crust cool for at least 10 minutes before adding your filling.• Check the edge while the filling is baking when using a blind-baked crust. If it gets too dark, loosely cover the edge with a strip of foil.

Cut shortening into flour, celery seed and salt until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle in water, 1 tbsp. at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 tsp. additional water can be added if necessary). Gather into a ball.

Mix all ingredients together and cook in crock-pot for 4 hours on high, 6 hours on low. 15-20 minutes before serving, shred meat and add ½ cup fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve in tortillas or over rice.

To prepare slaw, combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. To prepare dressing, combine cider vinegar and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Pour dressing over the slaw; toss to coat. Cover and chill 1 hour. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and sesame seeds before serving.

Season turkey with pepper. In very large skillet heat butter over medium-high heat; add turkey. Cook 12 minutes or until no longer pink; turn once. Remove turkey from skillet. Slice into strips; cover and keep warm. Add ham to skillet; cook and stir 1 minute or until heated and starting to crisp. With slotted spoon remove from skillet. Add juice; bring to boiling. Add spinach, half at a time, to skillet; cook 1 minute or until just wilted. Add orange wedges with second batch of spinach. Using tongs, remove from skillet; divide among plates. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with turkey and ham. Drizzle with remaining juices from skillet.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, curry powder, and ½ tsp. salt and cook until onion is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in water, meat, chickpeas, peas and raisins. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through.. Off heat, stir in yogurt and cilantro and serve.